Chapter 220: Blessings and Curses

Nie Yingying's fingertips brushed across the withered tree bark, and flakes of humus fell with a rustle. She stared at the embers of the campfire in the distant dwarf camp, her voice wrapped in the forest mist: "The sound of hammering comes from the tent in the southeast corner; the dwarf washing clothes is using a wooden bucket common among miners, and the one cooking... is pouring rock salt into the stew pot."

She paused suddenly and continued: "Baixue Gongzhu is helping out; it seems our Princess really intends to settle down here."

"That matches the rumors of seven dwarves guarding Baixue Gongzhu." Aoruilian's golden armor gleamed coldly in the moonlight, his blade gently scraping the mud from the soles of his boots: "Three are in the camp, and lunch is stew, so the four in the mine must be coming back for lunch."

He suddenly plunged his sword tip into the ground, and a topographical map carved by sword Qi instantly took shape: "The mine is two miles northwest of the camp, and there are fresh pickaxe marks at the entrance. The four dwarves have been in for less than three hours, enough for us to..."

"Slaughter the mine first; once lunch time passes, the dwarves in the camp will surely go to check." Nie Yingying's dagger spun a silver flower in her palm, "Once the remaining three dwarves leave the camp to rescue them, the rest can be left to the Queen. To be honest, I still have no confidence regarding the golden 【Child of Destiny】 above Baixue Gongzhu's head."

After the tactical meeting concluded, the two did not hesitate and immediately headed toward the mine northwest of the camp to get to work.

Watching the two Travelers leave, the red bat hanging upside down from a tree branch turned its gaze back to the busy figure in the camp.

With a flicker, Xie Yaoyao's body appeared on the branch beside the Queen as if he had no weight at all.

"Another 【Child of Destiny】, though the stance is different this time!"

The Queen naturally assumed the first Child of Destiny in Xie Yaoyao's words was herself, so she retorted with feigned arrogance: "Hmph, you even know about stances?"

At a time like this, it was impossible for Xie Yaoyao to explain that the other 【Child of Destiny】 he had seen was Little Red Riding Hood, so he said playfully: "Indeed, only you are her rival; even I am not!"

Seeing that the man did not refute her but instead complimented her, the arrogant Queen was in a great mood. The urge to rush down and kill Baixue Gongzhu immediately faded significantly, and she decided to proceed according to plan to prevent any accidents!

This stepdaughter of hers was wicked, always able to turn danger into safety!

Yet the people around her acted as if they were insane, taking damage and blocking disasters for her.

The Queen did not want any accidents to occur; she wanted to watch with her own eyes as she ate the 'Sleeping Apple'.

However, there was still some time left.

"Aren't you going to help? What if Miss Nie gets hurt? Don't think I can't tell the relationship between you two!"

"Is that why you gave her the Embrace, allowing her to obtain the 【Blood Clan】 Bloodline?"

"Of course not, are men always this narcissistic?" The Queen smiled disdainfully and continued: "That was a reward Miss Nie deserved; it was her own merit!"

The Queen's words made the air somewhat awkward.

After a long while, the Queen couldn't help but ask: "You say, if I rush down directly, can I kill her?"

Smacking his lips, Xie Yaoyao replied: "No!"

"What if you are added? The two of us working together!"

"Hmm, it would likely still fail!" Xie Yaoyao smiled helplessly: "You should be able to sense it to some degree, the favoritism of this world!"

"Blessings?"

"Curses as well! Aren't you most skilled at curses? Only a curse can counter a blessing, and vice versa!"

This is the Fairytale World, after all; blessings and curses are the eternal, unchanging themes!

"Oh! The dwarves' thick soup is almost ready! Lilisi, please go and check on the battle situation at the mine; we mustn't delay Her Majesty the Queen's grand undertaking."

Under the Queen's disdainful gaze, Xie Yaoyao finished this slightly exaggerated speech.

"Heh, I didn't expect that chubby dwarf to be quite good at cooking; I can smell how fragrant that soup is even from here!"

……

When Nie Yingying's dagger pierced the back of Tuolin's neck, the 【Shadow-Piercing Dagger】 blade didn't even catch a drop of blood.

This dwarf scout, skilled in stealth, was still marking the direction of the mineral vein with rock salt until the moment he fell. His beard brushed against the cold cave wall, and the lantern in his hand rolled to the ground, illuminating Karl's copper-bell eyes, which had suddenly widened at the corner of the mine tunnel.

"Vermin!" Karl's two-handed greatsword split the fuel splashing from the lantern, the wind of the blade blowing away three strands of Nie Yingying's hair.

But the blade ultimately got stuck on Aoruilian's Holy Light Shield, the sparks illuminating the Sun Emblem on the Knight's armor.

The sound of iron boots stomping came from deep within the mine tunnel, and Karl's copper-bell-like eyes bulged in the lantern's glow. Nie Yingying hung upside down from the cave ceiling like a bat shadow, watching Aoruilian's Holy Light Shield collide with the greatsword with a boom.

Amidst the splashing sparks, the dwarf warrior's axe blade suddenly slashed out from the shadows. Nie Yingying nimbly dodged the damage coming from deep in the mine and backhanded three feather throwing knives, blocking the dwarf's intention to continue the pursuit.

For a time, Nie Yingying and Aoruilian were locked in a chaotic fight with the three dwarf warriors who had rushed out.

When Lilisi arrived at the mine, it was the most intense moment of the battle.

Lilisi suddenly dove down from the mine ceiling, her wings whipping up emerald Wind Blades, and sixteen wind ropes entangled the joints of the fifth dwarf, Karl. The dwarf warrior roared, wanting to break free from the restraints, only to see Aoruilian's sword tip pierce the center of the wind ring—

"In the name of the Sun!"

Holy Light poured into Karl's chest along the blade, pinning him to the mineral crystal cluster. The dwarf's final roar shook down rustling gravel, and as the greatsword in his hand fell to the ground with a "clang," the sapphire embedded in the hilt perfectly reflected the blood-red eyes of the eldest, Geluomu, and the seventh, Aoli.

Geluomu's warhammer smashed toward the rock pillar where Lilisi was perched, but it was intercepted in mid-air by Nie Yingying's feather throwing knives. Aoli's great axe split two afterimages, but the real body had long since circled behind him.

"It's over." As Nie Yingying's dagger pierced through the gap in Aoli's gorget, blood flowed eerily along the blood groove of the 【Shadow-Piercing Dagger】 toward Nie Yingying's pale wrist.

When Geluomu watched his last brother fall, he laughed wildly and detonated the gunpowder bag at his waist. The moment the mine collapsed in a roar, Aoruilian's Holy Light Barrier barely managed to envelop the three of them.

Through the dust and mist, they saw the dwarf leader's torso, buried by rocks, still wriggling, his blood-stained fingers clutching the warhammer tightly.

……

The sound of the explosion from the direction of the mine was clearly audible even within the camp, which immediately caught the attention of the three dwarves in the camp.

"It's already time for lunch, why blow up the mine?"

Duomu's muttering immediately made the dwarves' eyes light up, and they said in unison.

"A new mineral vein!"

"Hahaha, it must be a new mineral vein! Ours is an iron mine; maybe the eldest and the others discovered associated Black Iron Ore, hahaha!"

"Black Iron Ore? Haha, I think I can get myself a new axe!"

Watching the three dwarves run out of the camp cheering, not only Baixue Gongzhu, but even the Queen and Xie Yaoyao, who were observing from the shadows, were stunned on the spot!

Pl... plot... inertia?